Jackson Young sat in the coffee shop that early Saturday evening contemplating life. He had moved to Orlando a month ago to start over. He smiled ruefully into his cup as he thought about the events of the last year and a half.
He absently rubbed the deep indentation on his left ring finger. He had worn the ring every day for 26 years, and now...
Linda got sick 18 months ago. Cancer. They went through everything, surgery, radiation, chemo but to no avail. He buried her on a rainy spring day exactly 9 months later. Their two sons were there of course, and they did offer to have him stay with them in California, but they both had young families of their own. He put on a brave face and told them he would be fine. Liar.
New York held too many memories. The house, the streets, the people. When the CEO at his biomedical firm told him about the new office opening in Central Florida he took it.
Hey, it worked for Tom Hanks in "Sleepless in Seattle" right?
The move was difficult. Linda had been the planner. She was the organizer. Everything he would normally have left to her he now had to muddle through...alone.
Alone. His eyes burned with unshed tears as the word stabbed him in the heart. This was NOT the plan. They were both going to retire at 55. Travel the world, visit the grandkids, grow old and fat together.
Now here he was, in a new town. He had just turned fifty-one in December. He looked at his reflection in the shop storefront. He was a middle aged black man. Six foot tall in his bare feet. He had a medium build and kept in pretty good shape. But he did have a little more beef around the middle than he liked. He kept his head and face shaved to hide his receding hairline and the gray. He knew he looked young for his age. His wife had always liked his caramel colored skin and his hazel brown eyes (compliments of his Irish grandmother).
He was finally getting back into a semblance of a routine. Work was going well. It was always challenging starting up but he had a good team and they seemed to respect and maybe even like him. They seem to have been briefed about his personal issues so were understanding about his somewhat distant manner. He gently but firmly resisted any attempts to invite him to their after hours gatherings, knowing that he wasn't ready to socialize yet. He wasn't going to be a wet blanket.
He joined a gym and worked out most evenings and on the weekend he would take an evening walk and then stop at the coffee shop around the corner from his high rise. He sat at his usual corner booth reading the Sun-Sentinel on his tablet in a desultory fashion while his half-eaten croissant and steaming cup of black Jamaican coffee sat half ignored.
"Excuse me , sir. Your server had a family crisis, so I'm covering her tables. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
The server spoke softly, even hesitantly. Jackson glanced up, his mouth already opening to dismiss the intrusion when he froze. He was staring into the most piercing blue eyes he had ever seen. His eyes took in the honey-blonde hair held back in a ponytail, the high cheekbones the thin slightly upturned nose. The lips were full and inviting...
"Sir?"
Jackson blinked, quickly closed his gaping mouth and then mumbled inarticulately.
"Ummm, could I have another croissant please?"
The eyes sparkled and twinkled and the lips parted to reveal (of course) perfect teeth. The smile was still registering on his retina when he heard the response.
"Coming up!"
He watched the retreating figure for a few seconds, then he started to breathe again. Alarm surged through him. He hadn't had a reaction like this to another person since the night he first met Linda! But this wasn't possible. He shook his head and took a long gulp of his coffee, cursing as he burnt his tongue.
Jackson's heart was pounding and he felt a sudden urge to flee. His server was returning with his croissant. He looked at the name tag affixed to the apron.
"Tommy"...TOMMY!!
The blue-eyed blonde was a guy!
Tommy was petite and effeminate. He was clearly gay, but wasn't flaunting his sexuality. He was young, no more than 25 Jackson guessed. He stood no taller than 5'6" in his baby blue Vans skate shoes. He was slender and lithe. The white t-shirt showed his hairless arms. His fingers were thin and elegant and the nails were bubblegum pink. The black super skinny jeans clung to his hips like a second skin.
The smile was slightly mischievous as Tommy placed the croissant and a slice of cherry cheesecake in front of him.
"I know. You didn't order this, but..." Tommy bit his lower lip.
"I thought you could use something sweet." A blush crept slowly up Tommy's neck and cheeks as his eyes held Jackson's. "On the house."
Jackson gave Tommy what Linda used to call his 'thousand-watt smile'. It had been a while since he had reason to smile like that.
Jackson took a small forkful and tasted it. He nodded appreciatively,
"Delicious."
Tommy smiled and then placed his bill alongside his plate and retreated toward the kitchen. Jackson had more cheesecake as his eyes lingered far too long on Tommy's prominent ass encased in those too tight jeans. There was enough cleavage there so that each cheek appeared to be cupped separately by the denim...
"JACKSON!!"
His inner voice bellowed in his ear.
"Stop that shit right now!. This is a fucking GUY. A WHITE GUY! A GAY WHITE GUY!!"
Jackson picked up the bill and dug into his pocket. He needed to get out of here. Right now. As he looked down he smiled despite himself.
At the bottom of the tab was written: "Please come again! Tommi." Of course, the 'i' was dotted with a smiley face emoji.
He dropped some bills on the table, leaving a huge tip. He hadn't finished but he knew he had to get out of there.
